"I am now a graduate," said the man, whom The Independent was asked not to identify. "I never thought I'd be that. I applied for college. I think if I was in a different institution I wouldn't be in this position I'm in now."

He spoke to others in a mental health unit during a daily meeting where students are recognized for good behavior. Staff members and supervisors applauded heartily to show their support as teens received coupons for showing character.

A year ago, the man was violent and committed assaults — even against fellow youth and staff members at Indian River. On Thursday, he told his peers he would be going home Monday, and he planned to pursue a graphic design career.

The meeting closed with unit manager Bobbi Leasure asking: "Where are we at today?" The youth responded in unison: "One step closer to going home."

ASSAULTS DECLINE

Youth prisons throughout Ohio are seeing a decline in the number of assaults, according to a report released last month by a legislative committee that oversees Ohio's prisons and youth services facilities. Indian River had the highest number of inmate assaults among the state's facilities, but it also houses the most violent inmates. And with more than 135 inmates, it's the second largest facility in the state.

Assaults are defined under Department of Youth Services policy as causing or attempting to cause physical harm to another.

In October, the Correctional Institution Inspection Committee (CIIC), reported a 31 percent decrease in assaults in 2012 in the state's youth prison system compared to the previous year. The report found 1,106 substantiated assaults in 2012. Also, the report cited a drop in fights. There were 514 fights (physical contact involving two or more youth) in 2012, a 30.7 percent decrease from a year earlier.

Indian River Juvenile Correctional Facility at 2775 Indian River Road SW in Massillon had the highest number of youth-on-youth assaults and youth fights last year. The data does not take into account whether the same youth was involved in multiple assaults. Scioto Juvenile Correctional Facility in Delaware had the highest number of youth-on-staff assaults.

Indian River had a lower number of youth-on-staff assaults in 2012 compared to the other institutions. Cuyahoga JCF had 38 youth on staff assaults, Indian River had 130, Circleville had 152, and Scioto JCF had 243 youth on staff assaults.

Trials in Stark County Common Pleas Court are coming up in December for four juvenile prison inmates 18 years and older: Christopher Griffin, Lameer Kidd, Cozted Phillips and James Spaights, who are charged with aggravated riot, a felony, and assault of a corrections officer, stemming from an August fight at Indian River.

Three corrections officers, also known as youth specialists, received medical treatment at the facility shortly after the Aug. 18 attack, and others may have been injured but were not transported to area hospitals, The Repository reported at the time. Ten more who were 16 or 17 years old at the time of the attack will face the same charges in juvenile court.

Once one of seven juvenile correctional facilities in the state, Indian River will be one of only three in Ohio next year. Successful reforms to treat more youth in community settings are credited with shrinking the youth population. Ohio Department of Youth Services officials said that over the past two years, a 23 percent population decrease has allowed DYS to improve efficiency of its operations. Since 2009, three facilities have closed.

The department announced Thursday that Scioto Juvenile Correctional Facility in Delaware will close in May 2014, and current employees will be offered other positions within the department.

Scioto had a small population and half of them were female so only a few boys will be spread among the three institutions, and it will not have a significant impact on Indian River, said Amy Ast, DYS bureau chief of operations.

As the department shrinks, the population has gradually shifted at Indian River, said Superintendent James Darnell. The Massillon facility was once a lower risk facility — meaning inmates weren't as violent. Now, the facility houses inmates who are more likely to be violent. It also has units for those with mental health issues and with special education needs.

"That mix is very challenging," Darnell said. "It presents really unique challenges, but the staff is up to the challenge and they engage kids. We stress engagement. We stress programming, training, structure, and accountability for the youth also."

As of this week, Cuyahoga Hills JCF had 174 youth, Circleville JCF housed 121, Indian River JCF had 136, and Scioto JCF had 18 females and 21 males.

In 2012, 5,074 youth were adjudicated, which means they had court involvement throughout the state. Youth who committed crimes such as misdemeanors have a variety of programs and services used to divert them from DYS facilities such as drug testing, monitoring and surveillance, community service and work detail.

Efforts are made to keep the lower risk youth out of DYS facilities so that higher risk youth can't have a negative impact on them.

"Our efforts have been successful because our recidivism has steadily gone down over the years," said Kim Parsell, communications chief for Ohio DYS based in Columbus.

Indian River houses youth 12 to 21 who have committed felony offenses. The average age is 17.5. In 2013 across the department, 98 GEDs were awarded, 51 high school diplomas were handed out and 358 career technical certificates were awarded. Last year at Indian River, 23 youth earned GEDs and 18 earned high school diplomas.

"The reality is this: These guys are going back into the community across Ohio and their average stay is about 10 months," Darnell said. "These are not guys you're putting in here and they're going to disappear for the rest of their lives. They're coming back and we want them when they return to be prepared to give back to the community, be successful in the community, and we've got to give them the tools to do that."

Indian River has 260 volunteers and they are looking for more, he said. The facility also is looking for more opportunities to give back to the community, Superintendent Darnell said.

"The kind of stuff that we want to do is for these guys to understand the importance of giving back to their community that they've generally just taken from," Darnell said. "It's something that's a definite shift in mentality for them. We start the process and hopefully when they get out in the community they continue on that path."

In one of the vocational classes at the accredited high school on the grounds, Larry Pickard of Hartville teaches half a dozen youth in a roofing and framing class. He shows off his students' handiwork with a smile. They have made sheds, bulletin boards, and projects for local Boy Scouts and Habitat for Humanity.

Pickard has been an instructor at Indian River for more than a year. He believes in giving anyone a chance and hopefully making a positive change in an inmate's life. To students who walk through the door of his class, he makes it clear that if they get out of control they can no longer attend the class.

Down the hall, other students show a car engine they're working on and agree the automotive class is a favorite. Artwork decorates the hallways at the school along with inspirational reminders.

STRIVING FOR SAFETY

Walking into one room where staff members are quietly playing cards and calmly talking one-on-one to youth across a table, one may forget these are youth who have been charged with felony offenses. Darnell credits his staff and about 40 programs in place at Indian River that have helped to keep the numbers of assaults and fights down.

"The staff here are resilient," Darnell said. "They respond and move forward. There are a lot of really good things going on. We have a staff mentoring program here that we're really proud of. Their incidents have decreased. We're pushing to expand (the mentoring program) because it's having a positive impact on youth."

He said staff volunteer to do the one-on-one mentoring — he has signed up for the program himself — and inmates have the option to participate.

Many security and safety plans are in place. There are 320 institutional video cameras at Indian River and the plan is to add 50 more, Parsell said. Locks have been added to the bathroom doors in the school. Additional staff are assigned to the close units where the maximum security inmates are.

All staff wear body alarms around their necks, and are trained in self-defense and personal safety, Parsell said. Also, staff are trained to identify incidents even before they occur and to take appropriate action, she said. At the same time, the inmates are trained in appropriate behavior.

During the school day, a total of 11 youth specialists help provide security at the school and are each assigned to a different hallway, she said. The maximum security inmates enter and exit the school apart from the general population so that they never cross paths. This has been helpful in reducing incidents, Parsell said.

"The engagement, the programs we operate, the staff's commitment in this facility is the difference-maker," Darnell said. "It really is. It allows us to work with this very trying and difficult population and have the success that we do have."

• The DYS system-wide rate of assaults per youth decreased 11.8 percent during this period.

• Indian River JCF reported the highest rate and total number of youth-on-youth assaults in 2012.

• Scioto JCF reported the highest rate and total number of youth-on-staff assaults in 2012.

• 514 fights in 2012, a decrease of 30.7 percent from 2011. The DYS system-wide rate of fights per inmate also decreased 10.9 percent during this period.

• Indian River JCF reported the highest number of inmate fights.

• Circleville JCF reported the highest rate of fights per inmate.

Source: Correctional Institution Inspection Committee report

Definitions

Assault — Causing or attempting to cause physical harm to another, or to order such. This includes projecting an object at or on another person with intent to cause harm, including bodily fluid. Assaults are categorized as a severe rule violation, which is the highest level of violation.

Fighting — Physical contact involving two or more youth acting in a mutually aggressive or offensive manner toward one another. Fights are categorized as a high rule violation.